1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a button feeder for a button applicator guiding a button body which is composed of a button with a tack member, after being delivered from a chute to a pocket below a punch of a button caulking unit, and more particularly to a button feeder guiding and indexing the direction of surface pattern provided on the front face of the button body.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,061, a button feeder of this kind is disclosed and claimed. It comprises a guide base, a pushing member which is urged resiliently in a vertical and downward direction toward the guide base and has a L-shaped cross section, a wedge member which is disposed between a pressuring surface of the pressing member and the guide base and has a inclined surface and a side member which is faced by and is urged resiliently toward the pressuring member and the wedge member and has a L-shaped cross section. Then these members define a feed path. When a button body is fed along the feed path, a larger head of the button body is pinched between the wedge member and the pressuring member. Therefore, the buttonhead undergoes greater frictional resistance at one side than at the other side in the feed path. Accordingly, a pusher pushes the button body to cause it to rotate about its axis and index its direction.
However, when one side of the buttonhead is pushed by the pushing member, the button body is pushed horizontally by the inclined face of the wedge member as well as it is urged resiliently by the side member. Accordingly, the other side of the button body is contacted with a vertical wall of the side member with friction. Therefore, the button body can not be rotated smoothly due to reduced rotating force and thus can not be indexed in desired direction surely.
Further, when a tack member is pressed into the button body through a garment fabric piece, as a cap which is composed of the head of the button body is faced downward, surface pattern provided on the cap of the button body can not be seen. As a result, it is impossible to confirm the direction of the button body. Further, as the most of the entire surface of the cap is contacted with a topside of the guide base, the surface pattern of the cap is damaged when the button body is rotated while it is fed along the feed path.